Islam as Our Other, Islam as Ourselves

Abstract

Islam, as the third monotheistic religion, shares a dual identity as both Other and Self to Judaism, to Christianity, and to Western civilization. This ambiguous position calls forth the ambiguous emotions of sibling rivalry but also promises the possibility of brotherly and sisterly love. From the point of view of scripture, which I will take as my starting point, Islam shares with Judaism and Christianity not only a devotion to the one God, to the goodness of creation, and the dream of a future time of judgment and peace, but the very basic principle that revelation is given in scripture. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are all People of the Book in this sense and though their books are different they share common narratives, common prophets, and common hermeneutical principles to guide them in the interpretation of scripture. And this gives them, despite all differences, a common ground for discussion of the issues that both divide and unite them.